MAAC Transfer Scouting, Part 4: Manhattan
There are 34 incoming transfers between the eleven MAAC teams as of right now, with more on the horizon. There are a lot of new faces in the MAAC, and that’s hard for fans. However, with the help of some analytics, film breakdowns, and clippings, we’re here to help you get to know every single entering transfer for the league, team-by-team.
Manhattan is one of seven MAAC teams with a full 13 scholarship players as of right now, bringing in one transfer, Hofstra’s Omar Silverio. Let’s get to know him, and why the Jaspers targeted him.
Omar Silverio
Hailing originally from the Dominican Republic, Silverio comes to the Bronx as a 5th year COVID senior, with stints at Rhode Island and Hofstra in his past. The obvious boost that Silverio brings to the Jaspers is in his catch-and-shoot ability.
Manhattan’s offense last year was highly dependent on Jose Perez and his ability to create for himself and parlay that into creation for others. In fact, Perez was 13th in the whole country in shot share, taking a staggering 33.4% of Manhattan’s shots. The only somewhat consistent 3 point shooters were Samir Stewart, who has now transferred, and Ant Nelson, who struggled with turnovers and wasn’t exactly the floor spacer that you desire from a three-point threat.
Manhattan shot under 30% from 3 last year, and Silverio plugs that need with his 96th percentile floor spacing, and 75th percentile 3 point efficiency, per Shot-Quality. The Jaspers ranked a stunning 355th in Catch and Shoot 3PT efficiency per Shot Quality last year and 352nd in spacing. They were consistently out of games because of their inability to shoot the 3, which is the exact opposite of what Hofstra was.
The Pride were able to space the floor with shooters, and use the threat of the 3-pointer as a weapon for their highly efficient interior offense despite not having consistency from their big men. For Silverio, he was effective as a stationary shooter as well as a coming off screens. There couldn’t be a more obvious fit in the Jaspers roster.
He scored 10.9 PPG while chipping in 3 boards per game shooting a solid 36% from deep and a stellar 92% from the line. Silverio hit 4 or more threes in a game 8 different times last year, a feat that Manhattan players reached just three times last year. In a game against Elon in February, Silverio dropped 40 points on 11–16 from 3, one of the best scoring outbursts of any player in the country all season.
Silverio is versatile in his shooting ability, he’s not just your traditional “stand in a spot and shoot,” he can shoot well in transition, on the move, off screens, and from deep three-point range.
Silverio shows active hands when playing on-ball defense. Silverio had a very respectable Steal rate, contributing to a team that was the best in the CAA at stealing the ball away. He does also get fouled on this layup attempts, showing that while he doesn’t have monster speed on the break, he can still get to the foul line to get his buckets. And Silverio was a 91% Free Throw shooter this year, once again something that all 360+ teams in the country can use.
I could pester this article with film of Silverio fading to the corner for threes, and other catch and shoot, but I won’t, because at this point, his skillset for the Jaspers has been established. He is capable of playing off the dribble, but he’s not a primary ball-handler, and he won’t be, his job is to be the high-level 3-and-D wing that Manhattan needs.
It’s likely that Manhattan gets picked in the top 3 of the MAAC Preseason Poll, and in order to live up to that, Silverio is going to have to make his presence felt as a scoring option and on the other end.